Quartz: AO and EPAO System

Introduction

The Quartz System for AO's and EPAO's builds on Portico’s unrivalled experience of developing and supporting operational and management systems for awarding organisations. Our systems manage the achievement & assessment records and certification of millions of registered learners and relationships with many thousands of centres.

The Quartz system supports business management and the entire operational process through a single integrated information system.

Quartz has been developed as a scalable solution to provide a practical and comprehensive system at an affordable level for both large and small organisations.

Comprehensive and in depth

Quartz offers functionality to support core and additional operational areas of the work of awarding bodies. Its range of functionality is comprehensive, but also in depth: that is, functions are not just superficially present, but have extra features and capabilities which have evolved from our work with over 35 awarding body organisations.

Quartz supports the vast majority of functions required to run a modern awarding body’s operations. These include built-in document management; built-in Microsoft Office integration; built-in CRM capability; and built-in support for key business processes including event management and centre approvals.

There are no add-on modules required - all the functionality described is included in the Quartz product. (Customer support and regular system upgrades are also included in the Quartz licence).

National initiatives and standards

Quartz supports multiple ways of working by implementing a totally flexible unit & module model for programmes/courses and qualifications. Quartz is framework 'agnostic' - it can support the NQF, QCF, CQWF - or provision outside of any formal framework. It is compliant with key national initiatives including compliance with MIAP data definitions (the CDD), use of the Unique Learner Number (ULN) and credit transfer requirements, and has a fully managed interface with the PLR, becoming in November 2011 the first system to be accredited for web-services operation with the PLR.

A2C

Portico Consulting has been engaged with the A2C initiative since the early days of the this important standard. Quartz's architecture is fully aligned with A2C, with it's qualification and unit structures fully supporting all the requirements of A2C's "Qualification Elements" (QE's).

Key A2C processes will be fully supported within Quartz for piloting from September 2018, with full operation being available from September 2019.

Further Information

Use the links above for more information on each of the main functional areas. Additional information can also be found in the Quartz factsheets.

Please contact us if there are specific facilities that you need which are not listed. We are happy to visit you to show you what Quartz can do for your awarding body or if you just want a quick flavour, we can demonstrate Quartz at very short notice using our web conferencing facilities.

01483 226910 and ask for either Robert, Chantelle or Charlotte

mail@porticoconsulting.co.uk

Quartz for AOs

Portico Consulting has been working with awarding bodies since 2000 and has developed and supported bespoke IT solutions for them since 2001. We are committed to ongoing development of IT solutions and consultancy services for awarding organisations - the Quartz system being our main offering in this market.

Portico is an associate member of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) and we are actively involved in contributing to national debates and developments which affect information and business processes for awarding organisations. We have implemented systems and provided services to over 30 awarding organisations giving us unparalleled experience of the IT issues and requirements in this sector.

Quartz - key functionality

Quartz provides functionality in breadth and depth for awarding organisations. This is a list of the key areas supported by Quartz:

Learner registration & enrolment

Qualification development and management

RQF and non-RQF style unit/component and programme development

Recording and tracking of achievement

Fully automated Qualification Awarding Rules

Administration of courses & examinations

Certification – traditional and e-Certificates

Certificate verification: on-line & AuthentiQual

Membership management and communication

Governance, compliance & quality

EPA Resource Planning (ERP)

Business Intelligence and operational reporting

Quartz Learner/Candidate Portal

QuartzWeb portal for centres with on-line:

Registration and claims/results

Self-service administration

Information and document exchange

Sales and marketing, and lead management

Centre approval and centre management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Document management

Workflow design and management

Electronic data interchange

Fully automated ULN LRS validation

Fully integrated PLR submission management

A2C Integration

Quartz for EPAOs

Quartz has recently been enhanced to encompass all key aspects of managing the EPA process for EPAOs.

Quartz includes EPA support for:

Registration (with employer references)

Fully on-line Gateway recording (for providers and employers)

IA contract and CoI management

Allocation and scheduling of EPAs/IAs with on-line availability calendars

EPA outcome recording, analysis and reporting

Click here for more details on Quartz's support for the "EPA Value Chain"